Newspaper-vending machine.



.1. P. FIFE & W. LAUGHLIN.

NEWSPAPER VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 15, I915.

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J. P. FIFE (Q W. LAUGHLIN.

NEWSPAPER VENDING MACFHNE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 15. l9l5.

Patented June 5, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

JOHN P. FIFE, or ATLANTA, enonera,

AND WILLIAM LAUGHLIN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

NEWSPAPERVENDING MACHINE.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 5, 1917.

Application filed December 15, 1915. Serial No. 66,937.

7 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN P. FIFE and WILLIAM LAUGHLIN, both citizens of the United States, and residents of Atlanta, county of Fulton, and State of Georgia, and of Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga, and State of Ohio, respectively, have jointly invented a new and useful Improvement in Newspaper-Vending Machines, of which the following is a specification, the principle of the invention being herein explained and the best mode in which we have contemplated applying that principle, so as to distinguish it from other inventions.

The present improvements relate as indi cated to a newspaper vending machine and have, as their particular object, the provision of Such a machine which will be entirely self-contained without any projecting elements of any description, and one which will hold a newspaper within the device in a position to be seen by a pur chaser and to be immediately delivered when the machine is operated. To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claim.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

holding the switch in open position; Fig.

4 is an end view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5-5 in Fig. 2; and Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the circuit connections,

The operating mechanism of our machine is inclosed within a box-like casing 1 which is provided with a substantially vertical discharge chute 2 through which the papers are adapted to fall by gravity when once moved into the chute, the chute being normally closed by means of a pivoted side or member 3 which is held against the outside of the casing whichforms the other side of the chute, thus closing the chute against the'discharge of a newspaper. The newspapers are fed into the discharge chute in such a position that the name of the paper may be read by the purchaser through a transparent portion of the casing, consisting of a window a set in the front of the machine as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Mounted substantially horizontally in the machine is a magazine plate 5 supported upon a plurality of springs 6, the plate being guided by a slidable connection over a number of verticalrods 7 around which the springs are preferably coiled. In this way a pile of newspapers upon the magazine plate are gradually fed upward into operative position where a plurality of fingers 8 having sharpened points 9 engage the papers, the fingers being attached to a transversely disposed bar 10 which is moved across the magazine plate by means of two pivoted rods 11. The magazine plate is preferably arched so that the papers will be slightly bent in order to prevent more than one paper at a time frombeing pushed from the pile into the chute by the fingers 8, and it will be seen that themagazine plate is so formed that it is substantially concentric with the are through which the bar 10 swings.

A coin chute 12 is provided within the machine having a lateral opening 13 to permit of slugs of smaller size than a penny to drop therefrom, this chute 12 then having a vertical portion 14 and discharging the coin into an inclined bucket 15 attached to one end of the pivoted balanced arm 16, having at its other end an adjustable weight 17 which may be moved into various positions on the arm in order to properly balance this arm, it being desired that the Weight 17 shall be sufficient to maintain the bucket against the end of the chute'll until the additional weight of a coin dropping into the bucket swings the arm for the purpose of operating the mechanism, as will now be described.

The mechanism of the machine is operated by means of an electrical motor which will be referred to hereinafter, and which is connected in a normally open circuit, in which there is provided a switch member 18 which is pivoted upon a lug 19 attached to the casing and is, normally held in the position shown in Fig. 1 by means of' a pivoted latch 20 upon which the end of the switch rests. This latch 20 is provided with another arm 21 being, in the vform of a bell crank, and this arm 21 ordinarily contacts a rod 22 which maintains the arm 21 in a vertical positionand thus holds the switch in the position shown. This rod 22 moves in a loose guide 23 and is attached tothe arm 16, so that when this arm is depressed by reason of the impact of thecoin in the bucket 15. and the rod 22 is moved from its posltion behind the latch 21, and thus permits the weight of the switch member to swing the latch sufficiently to allow the switch member to drop past the same and into a position which closes the circuit, as indicated in Fig. 6.

In Fig. 2 there is shown the electrical means for operatingthe device including a motor 25, the circuit of which is closed upon the movement of the switch as has already been described, the motor being connected to a gear 26 which is in turn connected to drive a small sprocket 27 which operates, through a chain 28, a sprocket 30. Attached to this driving shaft 29 and upon the periphery of the sprocket 30 over which the chain runs is a connecting rod 31 attached to the rods 11. When the circuit is closed the sprocket 30 is driven by means of the motor through one complete revolution in the direction indicated by the arrow (F ig. 2), thus swinging the rods 11 across the pile of newspapers, and thereby feeding the top paper into the discharge chute 2. It will be seenthat the initial movement given the rods 11 is rearward for the purpose of opening the discharge chute which is normally closed since the side 3 ispressed against the front of the casing by means of a link 32 connected to a pivoted lug 33 which is swung through a rod 34 having a pin and slot connection with the rods 11. The initial'rearward movement of the latter'moves the side 3 of the chute sufliciently to permit discharge of the paper,

the spring 62 serving to at once return the side 3 to its closing position.

The switch 18 is held by gravity in its closed position when once released and means must be provided for moving it to break the circuit when one cycle of operations has been completed. For this purpose we provide a rod 36 connected to a pivoted arm 37 and bearing a lug 38 adapted to raise the switch 18 out of engagement with the other switch members 39, in which position it is held by the latch 20.

The discharged paper is permitted to fall upon a curved guideway 15 provided with upturned fingers 16 at its lower end, thus holding the paper'in a position so that the purchaser can remove it, and without permitting it to fall entirely from the machine.

The operation of the mechanism is evident from the foregoing description. When a coin of the proper size is inserted in the chute 12 it depresses the bucket 15 thus pulling the rod 22 from behind the latch 20 and permitting the switch 18 to drop and close the circuit. The initial movement of the rods 11 releases the side 3 of the chute and permits the waiting? paper to drop, when the chute is again closed. The fingers 8 then engage the uppermost paper and move the same from off the pile into the chute, the fingers bein'g returned to the initial position before the circuit is broken and during this time the lug 38 is actuated to raise the switch and break the circuit.

Itwill be seen that the latch 20 is mounted upon a pivoted bracket 50 from which eX- tends the arms 51 and 52 bearing respectively an adjustable weight 53 and a rod 54 having a hooked end extending about the rod 16 and adapted to assist in the return of this member to its normal position.

The present machine is entirely inclosed, there being no element projecting from the casing, while the mechanism is extremely simple in its character and cannot be injured by any rough usage applied to the casing which such a machine is sure to receive from news agents and news boys.

Other modes of applying the principle of our invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, pro vided the means stated by the following claim or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

We therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as our invention Ina newspaper vending machine, the combination of a casing having a transparent portion in one side, a gravity chute positioned behind the same, a magazine mount lll ed above said chute, a pivoted plate positioned adjacent to such transparent portion and having its bottom normally maintained in contact with said side to maintain a newspaper there-against, means adapted to feed a newspaper from said magazine into said chute behind such transparent portion of said side, and other means adapted to swing said pivoted side of said chute away to permit the newspaper therein to discharge and to then actuate said feeding mechanism to move another newspaper into such chute.

Signed by me, JOHN P. FIFE, this 6 day of December, 1915.

JOHN P. FIFE. Attested by- G. W. HALL, W. T. FIFE. Signed by me, WILLIAM LAUGHLIN, this 1 day of Dec, 1915.

WILLIAM LAUGHLIN. Attested by NICHOLAS PAPP, Rosn SZABO.

Copies of this patent may be obtained. for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

